Tag Archives: slow-cooker

Many of the single geek guys I know are not very handy in the kitchen. They tend to live on pizza, ramen and things eaten straight out of the can. I know that I’ve been guilty of these same habits for far too long. I’m beginning to learn that cooking isn’t all that difficult – even for those of you whose brain is wrapped around some piece of code.

Have you heard of a slow cooker? Who knew these things could literally save lives? It takes about five minutes to throw something in there and turn it on. You can then go back to your work (or games!) for 6-8 hours. Pull yourself away, dump the food onto a plate and its time for noms! I’m not kidding, guys. This is pure genius.

Are you a fan of cheese? Take a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (yes, you can use the frozen kind) and put them in the crock pot. Dump in two cans of nacho cheese soup and two cans of cream of chicken soup. Mix it all up and let it cook for about six hours on low settings. You don’t need to add any seasonings or other ingredients. This cheesy fabrication will fill you up and keep you happy for hours.

Again for chicken fans – cook some chicken breasts with your favorite salsa. When it’s finished, it will be a snap to shred the meat up and use it on sammiches or on top of a mound of mashed taters. Good gravy this is simple.

Speaking of gravy – did you know that the store usually carries a roast ready to go into the slow cooker? Check the meat section… they’ll have a roast, the seasoning packet AND the veggies in one tidy little package. Dump the roast in the pot, add some water and the seasonings and start cooking. A few hours later, you can toss in the veggies and let them roast another couple of hours. Voila! You have just made one hell of an awesome meal. (This one is an excellent way to impress a *girl*)

What ways do you keep yourselves fed, guys… NOT counting the pizza, top ramen and canned junk?

UncleJohn is a long-time community member, as well as a halfop in our live chat room. He is a bachelor, and sent in some tips on how to cook for just one.

Cook large meals that make good leftovers. For instance, cook the spaghetti sauce separate from the noodles. The sauce can be reheated, and added to in order to make other unique meals throughout the week. One example is my famous Hoagie and spaghetti sauce sandwich topped with chedder cheese.

Top Ramen Ramen noodles are your friend. Ramen by itself isn’t very good. You can use the plain Ramen noodles in meals, instead of buying actual spaghetti noodles. This can save a few bucks. These are cheap and easy to fix. The noodles tend to cook a lot faster then actual spaghetti.

Slow cookers Get yourself a slow cooker. You can cook stews, chili, and other large meals in these. Slow cookers will keep your food warm for a long period of time. The best part is the whole “dump it in and forget it” part. Once everything is in the pot, the slow cooker will do the rest.

Make “TV dinner” style meals You can freeze these, and heat them up whenever you need or want to. When you’re not in the mood to cook anything, zap one of these instead of an actual unhealthy TV dinner, or grabbing fast food.

Get yourself a vacuum sealing system These really work, and will keep your leftovers fresh for least a week. I wouldn’t trust them for any longer then that though.

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